The role of developing country manufacturers in providing innovative vaccines

A recently published paper (JB Milstien and M Kaddar. 'The role of emerging manufacturers in access to innovative vaccines of public health importance', Vaccine 28: 2115-2121, 2010) analyzes the potential for emerging suppliers, those vaccine manufacturers located in developing countries, to supply innovative vaccines on the international public market. The current situation was compared to results obtained from a study performed for the GAVI Alliance by the Boston Consulting Group, in collaboration with WHO and the World Bank, in 2005. In the earlier study, only a few manufacturers were found to have both the capacity and the interest to supply the so-called “GAVI market” – the group of low-income countries that is reliant on external assistance to introduce new vaccines. There are now more suppliers positioned to provide to that market. Some of these are already providing newer and/or more complex vaccines such as rotavirus, measles-mumps-rubella, meningitis A conjugate, and rabies vaccines to some markets, and others have strong pipelines. Moreover, the proportion of vaccines supplied by emerging suppliers is increasing. It has already been known that over 60% of transitional vaccine doses are procured from emerging suppliers by UNICEF. In terms of UNICEF procurement for GAVI (yellow fever and combination vaccines containing Haemophilus influenzae type b and/or hepatitis B antigens), the proportion in terms of value from emerging suppliers had risen to about 18% in 2007, the last year for which data were available (See Figure 1--attached). However, the future may not look so bright for all of these manufacturers, as there are a number of them who are not part of the group producing prequalified vaccines and selling them on the international market. Decisions made now by these manufacturers and the international community (i.e. investments, pipelines, price points, global market demand) will have a large impact on the vaccine supply picture in the near future.